by Ceil Drucker
Contributing Yogini

Editor's Note: This article was first published in our April 2006 issue.
It is reposted here now to complement our story about a yoga retreat held in August, "Namaste, Y'all" by Gayle Hall, in our September 2007 issue.

Yoga is everywhere: on the cover of magazines, in movies, and its being practiced in churches and studios in your own Big Bend neighborhood. Chances are you know someone who’s doing it. Once the territory of spiritual seekers and flower children, yoga has landed firmly in the mainstream, and now this barefoot practice is taking hold in the boots and spurs country of far west Texas.

But what is the buzz all about? What is yoga exactly and why is this ancient practice such a new sensation, attracting business executives, movie stars and soccer moms alike?

The word yoga is usually translated as meaning “yoke” or “union,” pointing to the discipline involved in the practice, as well as referencing yoga’s ultimate aim of allowing the practitioner to discover the unity of all things, the oneness that is the truth of the universe.

When most people think of yoga, they think of people twisting their bodies like pretzels, and the way yoga has been adopted in the West definitely focuses on the physical postures, or asanas, that make up much of the practice. Actually, these asanas, or exercises, are only one of the eight limbs of yoga as set down by the Indian sage Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras, over 2,000 years ago.

This science of yoga also includes: restraints (thou shalt not...), observances (thou shall...), pranayama (working with the breath), withdrawal of the senses (inner focus), contemplation (observing things as they are), meditation (the release of attachment to thoughts and the presence of peace), and finally, the attainment of samadhi (the state of wisdom and dwelling in truth).

Whew! That’s some pretzel isn’t it? More than just a little sea salt and mustard on that one.

To make things even more interesting, the traditional physical branch of asana practice has been divided into a myriad of modern forms and practices, creating a lexicon of “lifestyle yogas,” within the traditional branch of hatha yoga, a discipline that focuses mainly on physical postures and breathwork practiced to prepare the body for meditation and spiritual pursuits. There are aerobic “power yoga” classes, graceful “flow style” classes and highly stylized forms, such as Bikram’s “hot yoga” in which the room is heated to at least 104° F to warm the muscles and deepen concentration. Yoga seems to come in as many styles as there are yoga teachers, but most classes follow a simple formula of breathwork combined with standing, sitting and lying postures that stretch, strengthen and align the body, while relaxing the mind.

People come to yoga for a variety of reasons. They want to get in shape, they long to feel better in their body and look better in their mirror. Lots of people are desperately seeking a way to unwind and release the stress that seems to come part and parcel with this modern life. Yoga delivers these things and it provides all sorts of bonuses along the way. The practice of yoga has something to offer everyone, and if you have a body and you’re breathing, then yoga is right for you!

Thinking that you need to be flexible in order to do yoga is like waiting until you can play the guitar to take lessons. We all have to start from where we are. What makes yoga different from a “stretching class” is the way the breath is utilized to create a partnership between the body and the mind.

Most of us need to learn how to breathe. We’ve been taught to hold our stomach in tight and flat, right where the breath needs to go, which leaves us taking short little breaths into our chest area. We spend our lives just sipping air instead of drinking deeply with delight.

It takes practice to slow down and allow the breath to move naturally in the body. There’s an ancient Indian saying that we’re born with a certain number of breaths to take, so learning to slow down and really breathe increases the span of our life as well as our enjoyment of it. Breathing deeply also lowers blood pressure, prevents osteoporosis, normalizes endocrine function, increases immunity, creates healthy joints and boosts energy and concentration.

Yoga invites you to be in your body, relaxed and breathing in the present moment, accepting things just as they are. We live in an incredibly competitive society, making it more difficult for us to grasp this sense of equanimity. You look at a picture of someone bending forward with their head on the floor and think “I’ll never be able to do that” and it’s easy to feel dissatisfied with yourself. Yet we are all at different places in our practice and in our lives. How can we compare ourselves to someone else when we have different bodies and unique experiences?

As a wise teacher of mine once said, “I’ve been to the floor and its really not that great.”

As you learn to accept and work with the limitations your body presents, you might find that you’re better prepared to handle the difficulties and limitations that life presents. As your body begins to open up and become more flexible, you may find that this carries over into your emotional experiences and your ability to flow with the rhythm of your life. Moving through the poses we invite the body to stretch and let go of tension and stress that is stored deep in the muscles. We invite relaxation and allow release to happen gently, like the petals of a flower unfolding. The way we practice on the mat becomes a mirror of how we live.

Yoga is not a religion, and yogis (male practitioners) and yoginis (female practitioners) come from all walks of life and all manner of religious and non-religious paths. In the West people come to yoga primarily for its amazing health benefits, but over time yoga also offers a great opportunity to gain awareness of the internal experience of being human and alive in a body. It allows you to explore your ever-evolving sense of self and your place in the universe. The practice of yoga allows you to stretch and grow, while watering the seeds of contentment and joy within you.

With three local teachers offering yoga classes and private lessons in Terlingua and Big Bend Yoga Studio in Alpine offering a full class schedule, there’s never been a better time to bloom where you’re planted.